Cancer Awareness

Cancer awareness is one of the most researched subjects in medical history. Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world and the numbers of people being prone to it are increasing consistently. Awareness about the cancer can help the victims to prevent him from being infected by cancerous cells and also guide him to deal with the disease in a more constructive manner.

Meaning of Cancer awareness

Concept of cancer awareness has a wide scope. The main aim is to make people aware of the disease and prevent them from being vulnerable to cancerous attack. Awareness enables the cancer patients to know more about the causes, symptoms and treatment patterns of the disease and makes them aware of the consequences right in the early stages of cancerous development of cells.

Relevance of cancer awareness

The most important dimension of awareness for cancer is to make people familiar with the process of generation of cancerous cells in the body. The cancerous cells are a bunch of infected cells that behave abnormally and attack the healthy tissues and cells. With the passage of time, these tissues and cells lose their potential to function efficiently and tend to behave abnormally. Abnormal behavior of such vital cells and tissues develop an ability to function as the malignant ones and thus the cycle of
generation of cancerous cells continue.

Inefficient functioning of tissues results into insufficient supply of essential resources like blood and oxygen to other parts of the body and disturbs the overall process of cell growth. Poor or faulty cell growth leads to generation of excess and unnecessary cells in the body. Such excess cells form groups and accumulate to form tumors. Such tumors have a high tendency to metastasize and may spread to other parts of the body in due time. Also, the chances of regeneration of such cancerous tumors are very high even if treated with reliable cancer treatments in the past.

Dimensions of cancer awareness

Awareness about cancer depends upon a number of factors. Age is one of the most important and primary factors in making people aware about the disease. Risk of being prone to the disease increases with age and adults usually above 45 years of age are highly prone to it.

Some cancers are also gender-specific. Prostate and penile cancers occur only in males while breast, uterine, vaginal and ovarian cancers occur specifically in females. Thus, the awareness about cancer should be given in accordance with the nature and origin of cancerous cells.

Tumors can be of two main types as benign and cancerous. Benign tumors are usually non-cancerous and are harmless to body cells and tissues. They can be eliminated completely by surgery and have very less chances of recurrence. Cancerous tumors are more dangerous as compared to benign ones and may regenerate quite easily. They also put a bad impact on body cells and tissues and restrict the organs form functioning normally. Thus, knowing the difference between cancerous and benign tumors is very important as a part of awareness about cancer.

Personal and family history of the disease is another important dimension to be taken into consideration. Persons having such medical history are at high risk of being prone to cancerous development and must undergo a thorough medical examination regularly.
Bad immune system can be disadvantageous. Weak health encourages the cancerous or malignant cells to develop more freely and without any considerable resistance form the body cells and tissues. Thus, a strong immune system is necessary to resist the malignant cells more effectively. You must have a balanced diet that is rich in proteins, vitamins and nutrients and low in fats.

Smoking, presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the body, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and other sexually transmitted diseases, excess alcoholism and chewing tobacco can be dangerous as they are some of the major factors causing development of cancerous cells.

Abdominal pains, bone pains, problems in swallowing and digesting food, severe infections, injuries and ulcers that do not heal by normal medication and breathing problems are some of the prime symptoms of cancer. Some other indication like unexpected loss of weight, considerable change in appetite, anemia and frequent body pains or regular pains in a particular region must be taken seriously. Such symptoms are also common with many other non-cancerous diseases but should be diagnosed thoroughly for chances of any cell abnormalities.

Cancer can be detected and thoroughly diagnosed by some of the contemporary techniques like biopsy, fine needle aspiration biopsy, endoscopy, computed tomography (CT) scan, ultrasound and X-rays. Some other methods like positron emission tomography (PET) test and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan are also useful in detecting tumors.

Radiotherapy is one of the most major and severe forms of cancer treatments wherein the tumors are destroyed or controlled by exposure to radiations. Surgery is a common form of treatment for cancers in the initial stages. Chemical therapy is another important form of treatment wherein the cancerous cells are treated by application of chemicals. Surgery can also be done in combination with radiation or chemical therapy.

Cancerous treatment can be allopathic, homeopathic or Ayurvedic. Allopathic treatment is the most common form of treatment. Other treatments are not proved to be effective enough to cure the cancer instantly or as fast as allopathic one. But they play a major role in making your body more resistant to cancerous infections and help in preventing their recurrence.

Cancer awareness is very important to fight this deadliest disease. Cancer is of various types and may develop in some of the vital parts of the body. The disease is curable if detected in early stages but can be fatal if the symptoms are ignored for too long. Cancer cells have a typical tendency to metastasize and may spread to various parts of the body in a considerably short period.

Hence, one must be very particular about his health issues and consult a physician in case of any abnormalities.